Robotic colorectal surgery project shortlisted for a national award

A pioneering project that is improving care for some colon and rectal cancer patients has been shortlisted for a national award.

The team who perform robotic-assisted colorectal surgery at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital (NNUH) have been shortlisted for the Surgical Services Initiative of the Year at the HSJ Value Awards.

The Trust was the first hospital in East Anglia to perform minimally invasive colorectal cancer surgery using a robot in October 2017.

Since then, the team have carried out 47 robotic assisted colorectal surgeries, which has improved the outcomes for patients and their recovery times.

Robotic assisted surgery offers more precision for surgeons, which has helped to reduce the time spent in the hospital following surgery and has reduced readmissions.

The colorectal surgery team have also improved theatre capacity at NNUH by using the robot at weekends.

Consultant Surgeon Irshad Shaikh said: “We have had fantastic results so far with great clinical outcomes, quicker recovery for patients and we have reduced the length of hospital stay for patients who have received robotic surgery to remove their cancer.

We believe our results are some of the best in Europe in a selected group of patients. It is all about teamwork and this was all made possible because we have a dedicated theatre team. The team has consistently helped by giving up their weekends to help cancer patients at NNUH.”

The colorectal surgery team at NNUH